The Hildebrandt Kids

Ashlyn turns 6!!!

2011-10-16T18:56:00.001-07:00

It seems like yesterday that I came home from the hospital with the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen! Ashlyn was such an easy baby and has always smiled sooooo much! Some say she is a mini me....but I just think that she is the most lovable little girl I could have ever been blessed with! We picked Ashlyn's name after her dad's cousin's daughter. Whew! It means dream :)
6 Things about Ashlyn right now....
1. She loves to be independent
2. Her favorite friends are Avi, Zoey and Lola
3. She is in Kindergarten and Loves to paint
4. She wants to be a doctor when she grows up
5. She loves to paint her OWN fingernails and do her own hair
6. She LOVES to cuddle with me :)

I love this girl soooo very much! She seriously was chosen just for me! Her smile makes life feel absolutely magical! I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for my little "Ashy Pashy"!

Vegas Baby!!!

2011-04-16T09:11:00.001-07:00

So I started this post forever ago....but life got busy and so it never got published. I thought I better do it now before it really is too late~ We drove to see my Aunt, Uncle and cousins in Las Vegas, NV. It was a first time visit for my kids and sister and also the first time they got to meet my kids. We got to go to the Las Vegas Temple...

This is the best we could do with the sun right in our eyes~

We also took the kids (in the daytime) down to the strip to see all the sights. We found this fun M&M store :)

They each got to pick out 2 colors of M&M's....I think Blake ate all of his before we even reached the car!

Here is My aunt, uncle, cousins, cousins kids, Carlene, my kids and I. We had a blast talking about old times and laughing tons

Ashlyn and Lola (my cousins daughter) were the best of friends

Of course this was right after Devin turned 8, so we went and got all of this Boy Scout gear~ He is SOOOOO very excited to begin

Finally...the night before we left, we went down on the strip at night to show Carlene. I have not Laughed that hard in so long. For one thing....driving a mini van with Snow tires on down the strip is not very cool! Oh well....not much to do down there but it was fun to see all the lights!

Our visits are never long enough.....

It's Tractor Man... and a birthday party too!!!!

2011-04-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

Meet Tony a.k.a "Tractor Man". This is the guy that is behind all of the excitement with Blake. Last summer, my grandpa hired this man to come and help even out the yard to lay stones down. Tony went above and beyond what he was hired to do. Ultimately he became not only a hard worker but also a friend and hero in the eyes of my son (and kids!)

When "Tractor Man" would come to work, he would always say hi to Blake and let him watch as he and Papa worked in the yard. Eventually, Tony showed him his tractor and then took him for a ride. The rest was history! That is when Papa made up the song Tractor Man, that is sung by Blake all the time! Now fast forward to Blake's birthday.....and this is what he wanted!

A Tractor party:

Here is Blake and Cameron (his best friend!)

Tony surprised us and brought over his tractor for the kids to sit on! What a treat for these kids.

We decorated the table with all of the tractor decor we could find. I decided to make the cake this year just to save on costs....it wasn't perfect...but it was perfect for Blake. He loved looking at it!

We took a family picture by the tractor! Devin's eyes were closed and I was in the middle of making Tacos for dinner (hints the apron!) Oh well....we gave it a good try!

Best friends.... Blake and Devin posing for pictures on the tractor!

Another view of all the decorations

Whitney and Hailey came for the Party.....I loved watching them up on the big Tractor! She is just so cute :)

Here was the big surprise! Papa and Tractor Man found this riding (or pedal) Tractor for Blake. He was so shocked and excited to see it. He gave it a double-take! He LOVES this tractor so much! They also got him 2 Kubota hats to go along with it...

How perfect.....every boys dream!

Of course....we all loved the cake and ice cream too! What fun memories we made!

Happy Birthday to our own "tractor man!"

Happy Birthday Bubba

2011-04-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

Today is such a special day!!!!! Blake is now a BIG 3 years old today. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It seems like yesterday that I was holding you in my arms for the very first time!

For your birthday this year Blake, you want to have a Tractor Party and have Tractor Man and Cameron join our family to celebrate. You can't wait to dress up like Cameron with a cowboy hat and boots on.....and blow out your candles!

Here are your 3 favorite things at this time in your life....

1. You love anything and everything Orange!

2. Eating candy is definitely your favorite hobby :)

3. Your favorite toys are: Star Wars, Legos, Tractors and all of your Toy Story toys!

Here are the things that I love about you right now....

* you tell me I am Beaufullllll (beautiful)

* you potty trained in 2 days because you learned that every time you go potty...you get a candy

* you love it when I tell you stories about you, Cameron and Papa on a tractor when you fall asleep every night!

* you love your star wars underwear

* you love to clean up when something is spilled...but hate cleaning up toys!!! :)

* you try so hard in preschool to be just as big as all of the other kids

* your favorite friends in preschool are Weeland (leland), Mason and Trishan (Kristian)

* you scream out "no zumba mom" EVERY time I want to do it!

* you think it's funny to say I have barbie (bbq) sauce on my face just to make me laugh

* you can point out and name 9 different kinds of fish, thanks to Papas calendar!

* Cameron is your bestest friend

* you love pop...and cry when mom won't give you some

* you have always loved to cuddle......

* you try to do everything Devin does....and can't wait for him to get home everyday!

* Most of all though.......I love your smile and your laugh............ Happy Birthday Bubba!

Zumba Fitness Basic Steps Demo

2011-04-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

So I started doing Zumba a few weeks ago and I am LOVING it! I have noticed a huge difference already :) This is where my funny store comes in.........the lady on my DVD set encourages you throughout the movie to keep squeezing your abs. Blake was playing with his cars in the corner of the living room while I was doing Zumba and all of a sudden I here him yell out..."you SQUEEZIN it MOM? You SQUEEEEEZIN it?" I actually was laughing so hard I had to stop for a few minutes. I didn't realize he was paying attention so much :)

8 things about Devin

2011-04-07T19:06:00.001-07:00

There is just something about this BOY......that I seem to think is AMAZING! Now that he is 8 years old, I am going to list 8 things he loves/does at this age- 1. His favorite color is RED

2. His best FRIEND is Braxton

3. He LOVES to read

4. He just got reading GLASSES

5. He loves everything about HISTORY and wars

6. He wants to join the military when he grows up and be a doctor to SAVE the ones who save us

7. His favorite thing to do in his spare time is play and build LEGOS

8. His favorite food is ANY kind of vegetable or fruit :)

Its Devins Speical Day!

2011-04-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

Devin Ross Hildebrandt

Baptized on March 5, 2011

at 2:00 PM

What an amazing son you are. One who is so caring, loving, sincere, thoughtful, sensitive, affectionate, giving, honest and giggly! The day you were baptized was such a special day for you, your family and friends.....

At your baptism Your sister gave a talk and this is what she said:

We believe in God the Eternal Father and in His Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost.

By being baptized, you show that you believe in Jesus Christ and have faith in Him.

Today Devin, you are making a promise in your heart with our Heavenly Father.

Each time you choose the right and follow Jesus, you are keeping your promise and your faith will grow. I am thankful that my brother is getting baptized today. And I am thankful that he is following Jesus Christ's example.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

After Ashlyn spoke, your uncle Chris spoke on baptism as well.

And then you were baptised by your dad. You were so scared and went in like a Champion and did it! You were smiling so big when you came out of the water.....something funny you said to your Grandpa Lanny was, "I think that it was colder than getting baptized in the river Jordan!" Unfortunately....it was all cold water! But how tough you were! :)

After you were baptized, your primary teacher, Ellen Kohler gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. You then were confirmed. I think you became a different person inside and out that moment. Grandpa Don and I both saw how much you listened and took those words and promises so seriously. You went home after your baptism and had a long talk with Grandpa. I love you Devin, for the man you are becoming. Although I am sad to see you so grown up.....it makes me so proud. You have a family that LOVES you to pieces....and always will!

Devin turns 8!!!!!!!!

2011-04-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

This year was a special year for Devin......he finally turned 8! For his special day, this is what he wanted to do............ First go to a movie: Invited was Blake, Saherah, Ashlyn, Braxton and Alex...........and mom and Grandma! We Went to the movie RANGO. Not impressed at all. In fact it was one of those movies where you say I just paid how much to watch this? It was awful- but the kids didn't care. It is one of those things as a kid, that you don't get to do very often...so when you do- it is SO COOL! Next off to dinner at Primos!

These 2 are the best of friends! They are so much alike. Both quiet, tall and love to laugh-

After dinner, we headed back home to a G.I. Joe party

Ok- so cute!

back to the party....they had to go through boot camp! Watching them do jumping jacks, sit ups and my favorite to watch kids do- push ups!!!! We laughed so hard!

After boot camp we let them play since really that is what a party is all about- they played for so long...ate a G.I. Joe cake I made but was too embarrassed to post a picture of it :) I am okay with that though!

Disneyland 2010

2010-12-28T19:26:00.000-08:00

Our bags our packed......we're ready to go.......
Our trip to Disneyland in December of 2010 will be one we will never forget!!!

This is when we first arrived at the hotel in Anaheim, California on Dec. 15th. We stayed at the Park Vue Inn....which was awesome! They provided both breakfast and dinner everyday for every guest! How cool is that!?! They are located directly across from the entrance which was so helpful due to the rain we had EVERY DAY! It was record rainfall.....so we lived in panchos and wet shoes!

These were all taken our first day at the park....luckily we got a few pictures in before the heavy rain. I thought the castle was beautiful all decked out in the holiday look :)

More pictures to come........ we had such an amazing time! We had 15 people from 3 different states, and 32 bags, strollers and car seats! Whew....I can't wait to go again when the kids get bigger!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

2010-11-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

I have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! I have the most amazing kids ever :) I have a warm home to live in with family that absolutely love us and surround us in laughter, smiles, hugs and support. I always love this holiday not just because of the food and feel of fall- but how much it reminds us of all that we have and all that we have been blessed with. This day has always been more special to me than any other holiday because of this handsome boy..........
It was 7 years ago on Thanksgiving Day that we were released to take him home from Doernbecher Children's Hospital. I will never forget how scared I was when he was so sick. As I sat in his hospital room in the ICU here at our local hospital, I knew that something was truly wrong that they were not seeing. As they began talking about sending him home and letting him recover at home, I began praying. Praying that someone would think of some other test, some other reason to keep him longer. As the time went on I began to feel helpless. I knew that he was not okay. About that time my Heavenly Father blessed us with Dr. Harrison. I will never forget her walking into his room and saying that she had gotten home a little earlier than planned from her trip and she felt the need to stop in and check on Devin. Within no time at all, she had ordered an ultrasound on him. I thought to myself- why an ultrasound? After she began looking she knew right away that he needed to be flown to Doernbechers immediately. His intestines had folded inside of themselves like a telescope. That is why he was pooping blood and throwing up blood. So they began getting him ready as the Life flight crew huddled in to his tiny room, my emotions began to flow. I was scared and didn't know if he was going to be alright. As we made our way down those white, crispy lonely hallways with him on the stretcher I began to cry. I will never in my life forget the people that helped us along the way. I remember when we were up in flight with him, he began to really go down hill rapidly. The man sitting across from me (Chris) told me to prepare myself. Really? prepare myself? How in the world can anyone do that? I didn't even look at him, but just stared out at the clouds. I had a numb feeling, yet "it is going to be alright" feeling that came over me. But he didn't mind. He sat there with me, comforting me. Asking me if I believed in God. He knew what I needed at that moment. And although he was there for me and with me for only a total of one hour or maybe a little more- he was family to me. So were the other two on board that flight. It was so hard for them to leave. But as it was done the whole time, Heavenly Father was looking after me because the minute they left, there stood my grandpa and aunt dawn. They sat with me through his surgery and waited with me until my mom and sister and Ryan and his mom arrived. The next few days after his surgery were ups and downs. He was so swollen and yellow from his kidney failure and word was coming in about the possibility of brain damage because he wasn't waking up. Yet again though- Heavenly Father blessed us. He eventually woke up and became well enough that they moved him from the amazing NICU down to another ward to recover! It is so hard to be a mother and watch your child lay in pain and not know how to help. One of my greatest memories though of his recovery was the moment he smiled again for the first time. He was given a stuffed skunk from a nurse named George. George is the most well known nurse I think at that whole hospital. He is the one to bring a smile to everyones face. Well, George was with us through his surgeries and gave him that little stuffed animal, and kept checking on him. So my sister picked the skunk up one day and was trying to play with Devin. Up and down that thing went, till she flew it up and over into his hospital crib where it landed next to him and he began to giggle. Over and over she did it. It was the best feeling in the world! So on this Thanksgiving Day, 7 years ago, I got to bring my little boy- home to my aunt and uncles house to celebrate! What an amazing gift.......and to Dr. Silen, George, Chris, Maggie and all the other staff that helped with Devin, along with all the family and friends that were there in support....THANK YOU! I will never forget you all and all that you have blessed me with. I will forever be grateful for your knowledge and strength, your love and faith and your devotion. For it is because of you and my Heavenly Father that I have a happy and healthy 7 year old boy! One who smiles and loves life to its fullest :)

Halloween

2010-11-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago to pick out the perfect pumpkin and also to play a little (pictures to come on that adventure!)

Then we got to carve them at home. The kids love to carve and draw their own faces :) This year Devin actually drew his own "guy" on his. It turned out amazing!

Here they are showing off the finished product. We had just gotten home from church and they plopped down on the porch to look at them....and so my mom ran and got the camera
Remember to look at the pumpkin next to Devin...that's his guy he drew! Awesome job Dev!

Of course, we had to do a family picture while we had the chance!

Devin got to celebrate at school as well. He had lots of fun games, treats and the famous costume parade. Blake and Ashlyn had fun watching all of the kids dressed up

I love this smile! He was wrapped up like a mummy. I had to laugh though, because he got paired up with this girl behind him. And anyone that knows Devin, knows how shy he is. So this girl starts wrapping him up in toilet paper and he seriously was looking at me like...you have got to save me! I just kept smiling :) I will remind him of those moments oh like when he is 16!

Here they are all in costume- Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, and the S.W.A.T. guy! This is one of my favorite holidays! Maybe it was because when I was little my mom would make the most amazing costumes for us! It is just such a fun time to see the kids use their imagination and have fun.

Here we are ready to go trunk or treating~ I was so disappointed because the night I got to take the kids out it poured! Seriously poured! We made the best of it though and went and rented a movie and got into our pj's and cuddled!

I hope that my kids will have those same great memories of times like this....aside from the sugar excitement! They just grow up so fast!

"What makes you Lucky?"

2010-10-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

I have 2 blogs that I read on a regular basis. One is a friend from high school and another is a girl whom I have never met. Although neither of these two have ever met both girls have one thing in common, they both have been badly burned from such a terrifying accident. I read these blogs and usually sob through them. I can't imagine the strength that they must have. As I was reading nienie's blog the other day.....it really hit me. She asked "What makes you Lucky?"
I have been going through (what I think is A LOT but no where near what these two amazing women go through).....that's partly why I feel that I should never complain. But in my quiet moments I have been thinking a lot about my life and how much it is changing right now. So, I began to read her words over and over. It really gave me that gut wrenching, wanna sob even more moment. I look at all that I have been given, all that I have gone through.....and I am so LUCKY! Lucky that I get to wake up (most) mornings with my 3 beautiful children.......that I get to teach my son how to ride his bike down a street that we feel safe on.......where we can walk outside and have people we don't even know say hi and are friendly. I am lucky that I have a mom who has sacrificed so much to help me out right now.
That I have a son who LOVES tractors- and especially the TRACTOR MAN and loves to sing his tractor man song to anyone that will listen. I am lucky to have a grandpa who likes to take my kids under his wings and do so much with them that only "boys" like to do :) I am lucky that my son loves to sit on my lap and rub my arms til he falls asleep....knowing that I will be there when he wakes up. I am lucky to be able to listen to him say "love ya too mama!" (which melts my heart every time) I am lucky that he is two......chasing him keeps me in shape~

I am so very lucky that my little princess loves to dance....even on days that her "arms are tired because she is so tiny". I am so lucky that she giggles and makes me giggle just listening. I am lucky that I get to see her beautiful smile ALL the time! I am lucky that she reminds me that I am the most beautiful mom that she has and that she is gonna listen "no matter what". I am lucky that every time I say to my kids that I love them, that we argue who loves each other more......

I am lucky that no matter how lost I feel, that I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and will show me the way he wants me to go....I am lucky that I live in a country where I can say that.....AND most of all, I am lucky that I have a family who loves me SO MUCH and lots of friends who love me! I am so lucky.......

Our summer~

2010-09-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

We had such a busy summer! SO many fun memories were made and the kids got to do many exciting things!

June- We went camping at Wallowa Lake. The kids loved playing with their cousins, playing at the park, roasting marshmallows and sitting around the campfire!

July-Another family campout at the Lake! We spent pretty much the whole week outside going for walks, playing mini golf, bumper boats, eating ice cream, fishing and boating :)

August- We got to go to the beach and play in the sand! The kids loved it....especially since the weather was beautiful until the day before we left. They made sandcastles and found treasures. Met lots of family we hadn't seen in years! We also got to go to Utah! Grandma MacKays house is always a favorite spot for the kids. They know exactly where to find her toys and loved seeing her.....as did the rest of us! :)

September-

Devin started 2nd grade this year! He LOVES his teacher and his best friend also got in the same class again this year! He is excited everyday he comes home and loves to tell me all about it! He has been the best biggest brother. He is definetely my sensitive one! I have gotten more hugs and smiles from this kid and he always says the sweetest things to everyone!

Ashlyn started preschool this year! She is feeling mighty grown up! Since I am her teacher for preschool- she giggles because all the kids call me "miss Sharae". She loves to help tease Blake and says the funnies things- I think I could publish a book on quotes by her :) And at the end of the day- she always says - "Mom, you are the most beautiful and I love you the mostest" Melts my heart every time!
Blake......oh my little bubba! He is boy all the way! He got to help with the landscaping projects outside. He is definetely a papa's boy. He loves tractors and especially TRACTOR MAN. Grandpa and bubba sing a tractor man song- and he is the first one to want to sing it to anyone and everyone! I love how he isn't affraid to perform! He is also getting so much better at talking! I love to listen to him......he just cracks me up!

These are all of their new pictures my mom took up at Wallowa Lake! I just love how they turned out!

As for my blogging world......hope I can keep up this year! I am going to try my best :)

Dance like no one is watching......

2010-06-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

So one of my favorite things to do is DANCE. I have danced since I was 3 years old. Last year I decided that I was going to pass my LOVE of dance onto other adorable little girls. My idea was to ask our neighbor girl to join Ashlyn one day a week and I would teach them beginning ballet..... and this is what it turned out to be.......5 ballerinas........

and 8 Hawaiian hula girls and 3 warriors.......... (not all pictured)

At the end of the year I put together a dance recital consisting of 2 ballet dances and 3 Hawaiian hula dances. I LOVED teaching all of these kids :) Most of all......I loved seeing my little girl dancing!

So now we are into a new year and I have decided to just teach hula this year....but I am still loving it :) Hope you enjoy all the pictures from our recital!

New pictures of Hailey!!!!

2010-04-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

Annika- Forever ago I promised I would put some pictures on here of our newest little niece Hailey! She has grown a ton so I thought that I better take them soon!!! I was finally able to get a few new pictures for you! She is starting to crack a smile here. This is when Ashlyn and I watched Whitney and Hailey while Ashley had an appointment.
This one was at Blakes birthday party! Any chance Ashlyn gets, she holds Hailey :) She is gonna love being around little Addy!!!!

She is just so adorable!!!! We miss you :)

Is it just me???

2010-04-26T10:30:00.001-07:00

Is it just me......or do other moms go through a time when they hands down, feel like the worst mom? Well......that is where I am at! I remember growing up, my mom had us all dressed up for Easter in our cute church clothes. We would go outside and find our eggs....... My poor kids! I don't want to blame it all on me....it was terribly cold....so I can blame that too, right!?! So here is what my kids looked like for hunting Easter Eggs in their finest-

My poor little girl! She had a beautiful dress that I was going to put her in...I promise! She does own pajamas too, that are the RIGHT size~Well, Blake isn't looking too bad here....He did love finding the balls (eggs)

I just have to laugh at this picture! Although they aren't in their finest, they had a wonderful day together! They enjoyed being comfortable and looking for eggs where it was warm inside.

So, to top off my award for worst mother of the year....My adorable children both hurt the same foot 3 weeks and 1 day apart. So I got to carry them around looking like this having people give me odd looks and asking me how they "both" hurt them! Then thinking that it couldn't get any worse, I put Blake in our bed because he couldn't walk and he ended up falling off our bed and landed on his neck wrong and hurt that too! So for 4 days, I had to hold him just right so he wasn't sobbing in pain!

For an update though, bringing in good news- Ashlyn got her boot off this last week, Blakes neck is almost back to 100% movement and he is now walking in his boot :) I think our black cloud may be leaving for awhile!!!!

Spring Break......Day 2

2010-04-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

To start off our day, we got to go to my Great Aunt and Uncles house for lunch. We were so excited to find out that my dads cousin Carlene (whom my sister was named after) was going to be joining us!!!!! Here we are with Carlene~Might I just say how much I adore her :)

Here we all are with my Great Uncle Paul and my Great Aunt Barbara. These people make you feel so welcome and so LOVED! It was so nice to be able to visit. And they made the best lunch!
My Uncle Paul just couldn't believe that next we were going to go watch the Jazz vs Celtics game and cheer for the Celtics! So on our way out he pointed out his neighbors house. This is the home of Larry Miller who owned the Jazz. Huge House!!!! Sadly though, the man just passed away. He sounded like such a neat man. Still it was neat to see his house.
Here we are at the Celtics game. My mom and sis made these adorable shirts for the kids to wear. They were all dressed in their Celtics gear. My sis even sported a Jersey! (sorry uncle Paul!)
I had to put this on here! My sister is a huge Celtics fan..... this was on her list of one of the things to do before she dies. That is how important this game was to her....even though we lost, we had an absolute BLAST!

Spring Break....day 1

2010-03-22T08:27:00.000-07:00

Day 1- First stop: Salt Lake Temple and Conference Center

We got the kids all ready and packed up a lunch at Grandma MacKay's house! And then off we went.....
It was INSANE trying to get around because there was a protest against Obama and immigration rights. We are talking like 30,000 Hispanics walking the streets chanting in Spanish yes we can! It was quite the sight to see!

Once we finally weaseled our way through the protest, we went to tour the conference center. Here we are inside by the fountain.

The conference center was beautiful and absolutely huge!!!!!

This is the podium where they speak. This podium was built out of the wood from a tree in the Late President Gordon B. Hinkley's yard. He truly was an amazing man.

We got to see amazing art work that is all original (except for one) This was a beautiful one!

Here we are on the roof top. Carlene took this picture from behind the fountain looking out at the Salt Lake Temple

This was taken by our Tour guide on the roof. I couldn't believe how much thought went into building this amazing building. Even the roof top was so beautiful!

Another view on top

I absolutely love this picture my mom took of Devin and Ashlyn on Temple Square

We got to do a bunch of pictures with all the kids and the full temple view in the backgroundHere is Carlene and Blake in front of the Temple....one of my fav's of them!

We all tried to jump off this stand. Here is Carlene and Devin's attempt!

Here is Blake and Devin.......how cute is Blake!?!

And....my favorite.....Carlene and I!

Our last stop was the Visitors Center. We got to go see the Statue of Christ! This was a breathtaking place to be. You can see the holes on his hands and feet.

I am just so very grateful that we were able to come on this trip and show the kids all these amazing places!!!!.........oh and Ryan......we miss you and love you!

28? Really?

2010-03-09T15:21:00.000-08:00

I had the best birthday this year! I just had such a nice day with friends and family. This was taken of the 5 of us right before heading home. I can't believe how spoiled I was.
I love you all so much and am so grateful that I got to spend it with you :) And thank you Ryan for the special date you took me on! I had such a blast with you

Devin's 7!!!!

2010-03-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

Thursday was Devin's 7th Birthday! I can't believe he is 7!!!! Holy Cow! He had so much fun getting to take cupcakes to school. He wanted me to surprise him and make up the cupcakes. I couldn't think of anything until Blake kept saying ball, ball, ball! So that's what we made!

I loved these pictures of Devin at his party! It just shows what a fun kid he is. He is such an unbelievably sweet, funny and caring son! I am so blessed!!!!

Here are 7 of my most favorite memories of Devin....in no particular order......

1. He used to dress up in a different costume everyday. He was known in the bank as "Bob the Builder" He would dress up in full out uniform with tools and all, stuffed in his tool bag with one garden glove always on the wrong hand!

2. The time he came home from school (when I was pregnant with Blake) and sat down and said..."Mom you can give the baby my name. I have had it for too long." I asked what we should call him if we gave the baby his name and he said "You can call me Bo Sharpe or Eric"! HAHAHA still makes me laugh!

3. He loves riding with Ryan in his truck. I love watching the two of them drive away in it. Such a fun thing to do with his dad, but he always manages to wave to me as much as he can until he can no longer see me!

4. The first time I held him. I remember being in AWE. All I could think of at that time was how adorable and huge his dimples were. I knew we were in for it!!!!

5. After I had Ashlyn, he would lay next to her on the floor and just look at her. I loved how much he LOVED her! He still does....

6. Watching him walk down the aisle at my brother Justin's wedding with his cousin Cali and Tre and Ashlyn. I just thought that was the most beautiful sight to see the boys in the tuxes and the girls in their beautiful dresses. They looked amazing!

7. Seeing him after he caught his first fish in papa's boat. He couldn't have been more proud than that moment! Although....I don't think he ever really wanted to get too close to it once he did catch it! He sure loves to eat fish though

8. One morning he made me breakfast and a drink, all by his-self. I was a little scared to try it. But I just went for it. I knew that we was going to watch until I finished it. He just sat there next to me and talked. Probably one of the best moments he and I have shared. Oh and for the record.... he made me cereal- cheerios mixed with raisin bran with about 2 tablespoons full of milk. Then he made me strawberry milk with about 1/2 cup of strawberry sauce. So much sauce that there was about 1 cup milk at the top and about 4 inches thick of the sauce at the bottom!!!

9. When he drank pop for the 1st time out of a can. He took a quick sip and then sat back and waved in front of his face and said "Whew, it are winny in dere!(windy in there) We have laughed so hard about that many times!

10. When he was in the hospital after his surgery at Doehrnbecher Children's Hospital. They were telling me that his coma and trauma could possible have affected his brain. They were waiting for him to wake up to see if he had any brain damage. I will never forget when he woke up. He just laid there for a long time. We didn't know if he could hear or understand us. My sister took this little skunk the nurse had given him. She threw it up and over into his crib and he just started laughing and laughing. I started sobbing (happy tears) because I knew that my baby was going to be okay! I will never forget the joy I felt at that moment. Anytime I am down, that is the one thing that I can think of to instantly bring me joy :)

Meet my new little niece....

2010-02-24T09:41:00.000-08:00

Last night we got to meet Justin and Ashley's newest addition to their already adorable family! Mommy and baby are doing amazing and all went well with her birth! Here she is.......

Hailey Ann

2/23/09

8lb 1oz

21 in long

She has long feet and long fingers......such a MacKay thing!!!!

We love you so much!

Update!

2010-02-09T10:14:00.001-08:00

So alot has happened since I last blogged.....for an update! Ashlyn has started going to Little Steps. It is a program to help ease into Kindergarten. She loves it! She is a september baby though, so she has 1 1/2 years still before she will get to go to Kindergarten. Her teacher is Mrs. B, whom she adores! She can't wait to go back. I love how excited she is!

Carlene turned 18! I can't believe it. I still can remember the day we got the phone call that my mom had had her. I loved walking up to the hospital after school and getting to hold her. I loved her as if she was my own little girl. I still do. It is hard to believe she is graduating this year!

The past couple weekends we were blessed to have company. The first weekend, Ryans cousin, wife and kids came! We loved having them. They have a little girl named Ruby that Ashlyn just adored. It was fun seeing them! The second weekend we had 3 exchange students come to stay for 3 days. It was such a neat experience. We hosted 2 girls from Brazil and one girl from Beaverton, going to Brazil next year. Here is Julia trying to read the girls books in English!

The entire weekend Ashlyn hung out with the girls. They loved our kids and really taught us a lot about there country. Ex.- they sit and wait for the owners of the house to start eating before they eat. I have so much respect for these girls and how well they represent their country. I loved these girls as if they were my own.

We Are FAMILY......

2010-01-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas my mom took some family pictures. I thought they turned out pretty good since all 3 of the kids ended up getting sick later that day!!!!

I was excited that Ryan and I got a nice picture together! I love this guy :)

Classic Santa Photos!

2009-12-29T14:19:00.000-08:00

Our ward Christmas party this year was a blast! We had a great turn out and got to visit with so many people. At the end Santa came and visited! Oh...how I love Santa pictures. Devins was so cute with his missing teeth!

Here is Ashlyns annual photo! I think we are going backwards here on our progress for sitting on Santa's lap. The first year she did great! Course she didn't know what was going on! The second year was still pretty good. Last year I had to hold her hand while she sat on his lap and now this year she wouldn't go anywhere near him! I told her that Santa needed to know what she wanted! She replied "Well, if he is the REAL Santa, then he ALREADY knows!" Well, I couldn't argue with that!

Blake...Oh Blake.... the poor guy got freaked out since he watched Ashlyn! Oh the classic photo with Santa!
I hope my children aren't the only ones like this! Is it bad that I loved the pictures anyways!?!

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house....

2009-12-29T13:03:00.000-08:00

The night before Christmas.... the kids got to make "Happy Birthday Jesus" cakes and we sang! They starred in the Family Nativity Play and got to open a new pair of pajamas! We ended the night by driving around looking at Christmas lights while we sang Christmas Carols!

Here is a peak at our Christmas morning... We had such a blast watching the kids! They just loved every minute of everything we did! Blake did a great job opening presents by himself this year which was pretty cute!

Our kids have always loved to dress up and play different things. So for Christmas they each got 2 new additional costumes! They loved putting them on....I just love this picture of them! They were so happy :)

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!!!

122101

2009-12-21T08:15:00.000-08:00

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY RYAN!!!!

So today Ryan and I are celebrating our 8th anniversary! I am amazed at how fast the time has gone by! It seems like yesterday! I want you to know Ryan how much I love you! Thank you for supporting me at what I love to do, for comforting me when I am down, the countless times you make me laugh and every day telling me you love me! I admire your strength, your courage and all your hard work you do for us! You are so special to me and our children. We can't wait til you come home from work everyday and cherish every moment we spend with you! And like you said on our wedding day.... Eternity truly is not long enough to spend with you! I love you!

Lions and Tigers and Bears....oh my!

2009-11-18T11:34:00.000-08:00

So I am a little late on getting these posted! Better late than never though right!?!
For Halloween we did the whole gang (minus the bad Witch.... Ashlyn couldn't be a bad witch "Cuz she is tooooo scary!")

Blake was the Cowardly Lion... and a cute one at that!

Devin was excited to be the Tin Man since his best friend (aka cousin) Tre was the Tin Man too!

And of course we couldn't forget our beautiful Glinda the Good Witch!

The weather was amazing this year and the kids had SO much fun! Even Blake loved getting candy!

Disney on Ice and the Beach!

2009-10-27T15:08:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we headed out to watch Disney on Ice in Portland

We were lucky enough to have our own Cinderella and Snow White go with us

Here are the kids walking to the Rose Garden. They could not stop smiling......

Our seats were amazing!

This is the actual view from our seats. We were the 3rd row back!!!

This year they focused on Cars, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and The Fairies
Oh... and I was amazed that the Cars were actually real cars that had moving mouths!

This was one of our favorite parts.....

The girls loved how Tinkerbell flew around and sprinkled pixie dust

After Disney on Ice we headed out to the Beach! The weather was beautiful

They loved playing on the beach. We were on the beach for a good couple of hours!

I just loved this one of my sis and I walking

Blake LOVED watching the ~waves~

There is nothing cuter than this!

We always have so much fun doing this every year! Thanks mom for such a wonderful trip! I love you!!!!

Little People, Big World!

2009-10-23T23:16:00.000-07:00

I was SO very excited to be able to go see the Roloff Farm from Little People, Big World. We are big fans of the show. But we are even BIGGER fans now that we have went. My mom takes my kids (and her foster kids now too) to Disney on Ice every year for their Christmas gift. This year while we had the chance, we decided to head out to Hillsboro and check out the Roloff Farm!
They have so many fun things to do while visiting the Farm. Most of it is for free, along with a few tours that you can pay to do. Since we didn't have a ton of time, we decided to hit up all the quick free things to do. This is a wagon in the middle of there pumpkin patch.

Blake loved looking at the hundreds of pumpkins laying around!!!!

We got to meet Jeremy Roloff!!!! They truly are one of the nicest families we have ever met. All of the staff at the Farm said that you can always catch them walking around taking pictures and talking with people.

Here we are with Zach Roloff. I loved that he just walked around and was sooooo nice to everyone!

Along with getting to meet a few of the family members, seeing tons of pumpkins and going through fun houses, the kids also got to go through a maze and go to the petting zoo. We had such a blast! Anyone who ever has a chance to go..... it is a must! We had such a great time!

How LUCKY am I!?!

2009-10-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my mom took my sister out to take some senior pictures! She is so beautiful! I just love how her pictures have turned out. I will post more of them soon!

While they were there, we managed to join and add in on the fun! I really wanted a sister picture taken... I am soooo lucky to have such an awesome sis!

I also just love the ones my mom took of the kids

And a few of the kids and I......

Thank you MOM!

An adventure!

2009-10-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

Back in September, Ryan and his cousin got to go to a football game (ducks vs utah) So we decided to tag along and make a family vacation out of it! First stop.... To visit and play with Uncle Dave and Aunt Paula. We had a blast playing at their house! We ADORE them!

Second stop.... Enchanted Forest in Salem. If you haven't been there- it is a theme park based on Nursery Rhymes. The kids were a little scared of all of it at first but then loosened up and had a great time. Here they are in front of Humpty Dumpty and his great big wall!

Here is Devin and Blake walking by Jack and Jill as they are falling down their hill

Ashlyn was soooo scared of this one. We did however get her to stand in the witches mouth from Snow White. Look at Ashlyns face.....it cracks me up. After you climb up her tongue, you can slide down the other side.

We found the kiddie rides, so Devin and Ashlyn hopped on this train and took a ride a few times around! They were so cute together!

Look who we found along the way..... why Abe Lincoln! He was just waiting for us to dress up like he does. The kids LOVED this. Devin still talks about getting to "meet" him!

Third stop, the Oregon Coast. Most of you know that this place is so meaningful to me. Since I was tiny I have been coming here. This was my first time going back since my Grandparents moved up to La Grande from there. It was sad to not be able to go back to the beach house, but I think we managed to make some new good memories! It was windy and really cold so we didn't play long on the beach itself. This was Blakes first trip to the beach.... he LOVED it!

We managed to get a quick picture of most of us..... sorry the wind was terrible!

Last stop before going home.... the Oregon Zoo.

This picture is for my mom.... our family has this thing about eagles..... it was amazing to see them up close.

This last picture I just love. The kids saw this polar bear and truly believed that they were seeing Alaska and that the polar bear came from Tre, Cali and Jalens house. They thought that it was there to meet them. I love how into it they were. They didn't want to leave "Alaska".

All in all, we had a blast! I wish that we could have stayed at the beach longer. The day we left it was so beautiful and warmed right up! Well, just makes a reason to go back again soon!

Ashlyns 4!

2009-10-06T16:20:00.000-07:00

How does one get to be a PRINCESS, might you ask?

Well first you must look the part.....

make sure you have CINDERELLA paint your nails....

See... they turn out soooo very BEAUTIFUL.....

Of course you must go to the TEA PARTY......

And what is a PRINCESS without her very own PRINCE CHARMING...or two....

serving the most delicious cupcakes!

I do have the most BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS FRIENDS if I might say so myself!

Ashlyn had a wonderful time with all her friends who came to her princess party! They made tiaras.... yes glitter and jewels galore.... and wands! They had a special guest..... Cinderella of course! She painted finger nails and put sparkly lip gloss on all the girls! What a wonderful day she had! I can't believe she is 4!

Dear Eskimo's in Alaska,

2009-09-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Eskimo's in Alaska,

We have somehow misplaced our family somewhere in ALASKA! I know one of you has this family held hostage! Maybe they are keeping you company in your igloo, but we miss them! So please take a good look at these darling little faces..... they came up missing 6.24.07

We still have a few of these signs just waiting for there return......

I beg you, please ship them "same day air" please.... before this kid goes crazy from missing them so much! We just love them and don't want to miss them ANYMORE!

Love, The Hildebrandts and all the others here who miss them

ppppsssstttt..... is it working yet??????

Oh....those tasty hostess cupcakes!!!

2009-09-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had given Ashlyn a cupcake for helping me out all day! I know that she took one bite before needing to go put her "baby" back to sleep. So, she must have forgotten about it (she gets that from me....only I don't forget when it's chocolate!) I was busy getting dinner ready when I soon realized that silence from Blake is never a good thing. He is usually doing something he isn't suppose to, example....playing in the toilet, putting Devin or Ashlyn's toothbrushes in the toilet or my favorite... unrolling the whole roll of toilet paper into the toilet! Now we are talking seconds here people.... he can do all of this in seconds! Off I went looking in each bathroom looking in bedrooms, the living room....starting to get a little worried I yell "BLAKEY... BUBBA....." still no answer. As I finally reach the kitchen I hear this faint little laugh coming from the dining room.... This is what I find!

" Oh those little hostess cupcakes.....how good you look and taste.....if I am quiet no one will find me!" says Blake! I can't blame the kid. After getting a good laugh from it, I said in the most serious voice, Blake....what did you do? And that is when this happened......

Poor little guy. So I spoiled his plan but at least he had pretty much finished the entire cupcake while I was running around trying to find him! Oh.....those little hostess cupcakes.... no one can resist them!

Today is Miss Cali's Birthday!

2009-09-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS CALI..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

So today is my gorgeous nieces 7th birthday! So this post is dedicated to you Cali! We miss you so stinking much! I love your curly hair. I love how you love Hannah Montana. I loved holding you when you were a baby! I love your adorable smile and all the hugs I get when I see you! I love you for being such a great big sister to Addy and for always making Ashlyn feel so special. I love your little voice over the phone tell me you love me! I love how you do make-up with Carlene! I love how you are in the 1st grade, because you are just growing up to be such a beautiful girl! I love you more Cali, then you will ever know! I miss watching you dance and sing and see all the fun things...like your birthday parties! So, since we are not with you in Alaska, know that we LOVE YOU TO PIECES and we are thinking of you on your special day!
I Love You, Aunt Sharae

Cali-
Happy Birthday! I miss you. I wish you were in my school class this year. I wish I could see you.
Love, Devin

Cal,
Happy birthday Cali, I miss you. I love you. I wish you can come to my house. Happy Birthday Cali.
Love, Ashlyn

Cali, Blake wants to give you a big hug for your birthday! He blew your picture kisses!
Love, Blake

Cali,
Happy Birthday! Love, Uncle Ryan

WE LOVE YOU CALI!!!!!!!!!!!!

A passion....

2009-09-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

This SUMMER, one of my past foster sisters got married. So, my mom, sister, Ashlyn and I all headed out to the little town of Richland, OR. My mom and sister love photography and so Michelle had asked them to do the pictures for her wedding. Ashlyn ended up the night before the WEDDING getting asked to be the FLOWER GIRL.

Any one who knows ME well, knows that I love to work with flowers! It is truly a PASSION I have! Michelle had asked if I could do all of the flowers! Oh man...twist my arm! I take any chance I can get to do flowers, and to go to a wedding. LOVE THEM!

I didn't get a chance to take pics of my FLOWERS before the wedding, so this was after the wedding!

Here is Michelle, the bride, holding her flowers. The wedding was a BEAUTIFUL SUNSET wedding. We all had a great time!

It can't be!

2009-09-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

This guy can't be in the First Grade already, can he?

I'm one of those proud mom's that takes their child to school and takes before pictures and pictures as he steps in his class for the first time. Yes, I am that mom that hugs and kisses their child and doesn't want to leave because he is just so darn cute and doesn't seem old enough to stay a WHOLE day without me! And YES- I am that mom that misses my kids during the school day and I am that mom who goes straight to the car with tears in her eyes, partly out of sadness of him being away all day, but also that he IS that old to go to the 1st Grade. Yesterday was Devin's first day of many more to come. I just love having him around to visit with and to do fun projects with and explore those great "treasures" that he always finds! I sometimes wish that my kids could stay so young and innocent FOREVER! Oh and for the record, he is that boy who can still hug his mom and baby brother goodbye without embarrassment- Although, he did give his sister "the look and cold shoulder" as she went to hug him. Hopefully it was just a first day thing! Oh....and he learned to tie his shoes 2 days ago-so for his first day, he tied his own shoes! Big time stuff!!!

My HAPPY Place 2009

2009-09-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

This is Beautiful Wallowa Lake, the place where we go once a year with all of my moms side of the family for our Annual Family Campout. And best of all....this is the place where my best friend proposed to me July 15, 2001! I have always loved this place....it's my HAPPY place!

Grandpa brings his boat and takes all the kids out fishing (young and old kids!!!) You can see Devin, Ashlyn and Ryan all out there!

This year we camped all but 2 days, so we managed to cool off in the lake! This kids loved it!

Whitney and Blake loved watching the kids do bumper boats!

Devin was old enough to go alone this year! I can't believe how well he did. In the back of my mind I was thinking.... boy, what happens if he can't get it back to the dock.....he always proves me wrong! What an awesome kid he is. He is really growing up to be such a great kid! Well, we can't wait for next year! We just love seeing all the cousins and aunts and uncles and of course the giant ice cream cones! All we need now though is Aaron, Annika, Tre, Cali and little Addy to come back to make some more memories with!!!!! Hint, hint guys!

Sweet Obsession!

2009-08-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast my kids are growing up- I love the stage of the chubby thighs, the messy faces, the stinky diapers ( I know....not really....I have a point!) and all the wet kisses~ I love how small they are and their adorable little bottoms! I think mainly I just love everything about my kids!

Although I say I can't wait for them to grow up, I often get scared of the day when I will be with out them running all over, tripping on toys and telling Ryan how tired I am after cleaning up after them all day.

I just hope they know how much I love them! I don't care if Devin wants to be a garbage man..... or a mall cop (just so he can drive a segway....really who sees those in real malls!?!) Anyways, I have so many hopes and dreams for my kids, but above everything, I just hope that the one thing they carry with them is my love for them and life!

I love you kiddos all the way to HEAVEN and back!

Happy 4th of July!!!

2009-07-07T11:17:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!!!

We spent our day having so much FUN. First we decorated our bikes, strollers and baby strollers in AMERICAN colors and walked through our annual neighborhood PARADE!
If you look close you can see the rest of us walking behind Alex! Doesn't he look like a stud!

Blake loved kicking back in his little AMERICAN Car! He spotted Papa from a mile a way sitting on the side and waved for about 2 blocks until we reached him. It was the CUTEST thing to watch!

These two were so ADORABLE pushing their babies! Ashlyns baby fell out at least every 15 feet the whole parade route!

I just love their SMILES!!!
After our parade we spent the rest of the day jumping in the JUMPING CASTLE and chowing down at our annual BBQ! To top it all off the FIREWORKS show was fabulous!!! Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July like we did!

Flip That House

2009-07-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is... our 3rd FLIP HOUSE that we have successfully completed!!! I have put A TON of pictures on here (sorry!) that shows before and after shots of this house. I sure enjoyed looking through them and seeing the difference between the two. You should get a pretty good idea of both before and after working on this beastly home. To start off you must get an idea of the horrible smell we put up with.... so imagine you and 7 others living in this house along with 3
St. Bernard dogs, and 4 cats whom all of which urinated and did all sorts of pooping and throwing up on the lovely carpets! Not only the smell... but visually still seeing it plus add heat to just help that lovely smell worsen by like 150%. Our families had the joys of doing a walk through and then having to go home and shower to get the smell off of them! Oh the joys of the "stink house" as my children named it.... so enjoy our journey! I will point out just a few things we did, but keep in mind- we went through GALLONS of a special Killz paint to kill the urine and other nasty stuff. Smells much better now- and we gutted pretty much everything!

Before: Front view of the House

After: We removed a tree and trimmed the other one, painted, got new windows...etc...

Entry way (never got one before)

Before: This is the lovely carpeted kitchen with maggots in the fridge!

After: All new EVERYTHING!!! We also took a wall out and added a breakfast bar

Before: View of fireplace in living room

After: Removed wall, new flooring cleaned up the brick and new paint throughout!

Before: Huge 505 sqft family room (was the worst smelling room)

After: We added a wooden bay window instead of the carpet

Before: 2nd view of family room (notice the fake wooden walls!)

After: We added some brick around the base of the fireplace as well as new carpet, walls, paint...

Before: Hall bath was gold flooring, gold tile and all fixtures were GLUED on!

After: Hall Bath... sure brightens it up!

Before: Master Bedroom- picture shows the nasty carpet and the cute pink (JK) walls that were throughout the entire house

After: This is what all 3 rooms ended up looking like. Love the new carpet!

Before: Master Bath includes blue sink, toilet, shower and lovely flooring. If you click on the photo to make it larger, you can see how unclean this place was!

After: We tiled the shower!!!

So there you have it! I learned so much on this one. I was able to put in all the flooring except the carpet. Learned how to put in the rubber molding and the tub surround. I enjoyed getting to paint my fav colors and always enjoy getting to design and create the kitchen! All in all, glad it's done and many thanks goes out to all those who helped during the whole process! Oh and to top it all off, we have an amazing LDS family in there who we have come to know and love!!!!

School's Out For The Summer.....!

2009-06-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

Well, our summer of fun is just beginning! To start off- Devin and our neighbors kids like to dress up, so they played Ninjas out in our yard. I laughed so hard when I saw them pouring out of Devin's room in these outfits!!!

I often wonder what people think as they drive by with a yard full of strange looking ninjas!

Blake is just loving the sun and being out with the other kids! He just sits in his little chair and laughs so hard!

Ashlyn and her friends got to play in the sprinkler.... she loved it!

And we have finally finished up Devin's T-ball games! He had so much fun this year :)

Ashlyn and I have our final performance tonight of our Hula Dancing! We had so much fun learning the dances and we hope that Keilani comes back next year to do more classes!

Hula Dance!

2009-05-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn has been taking some Hula lessons the last couple of months... I know... cute huh!?! I have loved watching her shake her hips and learn all these fun dances. Here are a few from her first performance!

Ashlyn is the youngest in her class. She is 3, my foster sister is next to her and she is 4 and then the other girls are 5 and 7. There is also one more girl who wasn't able to attend and she is 6. They did pretty good for only dancing for a month.

Little Girls

2009-04-14T14:02:00.001-07:00

My mom took some pictures of Ashlyn and then some with Whitney (my niece and my foster sister) I love being around giggles and curls and big pretty dresses, high heels... you name it, girls are TOO fun!

I love you Ashlyn!

Happy 1st Birthday Blake!!!

2009-04-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

Our adorable little boy arrived on April 10, 2008 via a c-section! He has been smiling since he came into our arms. We love you and we are so happy today is your special day!

6 days old

3 months old

1 year!

We're jumpin' in....

2009-03-29T15:37:00.000-07:00

My mom and sister planned to go to Boise, ID for spring break just to get away for a few days and shop, play do whatever... so I said sounds like fun! So the kids and I joined them for tons of fun and many hours of much needed giggling!!! We took the kids and my foster brother and sister to build a bear where they got to do their own bears up. They were smiling from ear to ear!

After they stuffed them, they got to wash them and dress them. Here is Devin washing his bear that he named Jack.

Here is Ashlyn washing her lamb she picked out and named her "little lamb"... creative I know! Ha!

We also took the kids to a fun place downtown Boise called The Discovery Center. There were 166 hands on activities for kids to do! The cost was only $4 for kids up to 17 years old. We spent like 3 hours here. I recommend this place to anyone going that way!!! This is Carlene and Ashlyn freezing water.

Here are the kids blowing bubbles. If you look closely you can see Devins huge bubble!!!

They also had a veternarian station where they could pick out a stuffed animal, walk them on leashes, feed them, x-ray them, wash them, etc. They got to dress up and look the part as well. Devin LOVED this one!

They also had a Mini Grocery Center set up where you can go in and do your shopping with carts and all the food, cleaning supplies... everything you can think of and then at the end you can put them up on the check out stand and check them out! Of course... Ashlyn loved this one! All in all we had a TON of fun, wish we could have stayed for a month! Ha!

PoRtLaNd OR bUsT!!!!

2009-03-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

We took Devin to OHSU to visit his doc in Portland this past weekend. While we were there we took the kids to the Temple in Portland and visited the zoo, swam at the pool in our Hotel and we got to visit Ryans cousin and family and Ryans sister Angie and family. We had a blast and loved spending time together. I took a few pics of all the fun we had!!!

Look out world Devin turned 6!

2009-03-05T14:55:00.001-08:00

Our sweet little Devin turned 6 yesterday! We took him to Primo's and had tons of fun!!!!

Here is a picture of the cake that my sister-in-law Ashley made for him! Probably one of the cutest cakes he has ever had! (Can you believe this was her first one!?!)

Proud Sister!

2009-01-31T12:05:00.000-08:00

Every sister has bragging rights, right!?! Well, even though we lost last nights game, I just have to say how proud I am of my sister! She played great last night, even being the leading scorer. To top it off, she got named player of the game by our local radio station! Great job C-MAC from your #1 fan! (Oh- this is last years team picture, for those of you who don't know which one she is, she is holding the ball!)

All Smiles

2009-01-31T11:52:00.000-08:00

This little guy is nothing but smiles! How lucky am I!?! I can't help but give this little guy tons of hugs and kisses. He is the most lovable little guy ever!

New Language...New Toy!

2009-01-15T18:27:00.000-08:00

Ashlyn has apparently picked up on a new language. Somehow I missed the sign ups for it, but could really use a lesson on it. So far, I have figured some out-

Mama, I need some Wackamashu (water)

Are we going to cha, cha, cha? (home)

Can you put a dubba,dubba on my bacca? (put a diaper on my baby)

I need something in the dollalla! (Kitchen)

I have no idea where she has come up with this, but seems to say the same thing every time! It is sure funny to hear it come out of her!

Blake also started something new! Drum roll.....he learned that playing in the toilet is fun to do! I heard splashing coming from the bathroom as I was helping Ashlyn wrap her baby up. I knew that no one was in the bathtub and that is when I ran as fast as I could to find our cutie splashing in the water! I said Blake where did you learn this? He said "Da, Da!" So there you have it! What would I do without my babies!

Blake is 9 Months!!!!

2009-01-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

Our sweet little "Blakey" (as we call him) turned 9 months yesterday! We just love the little guy so much. He truly has been a blessing to our family. I can't wait to see how big he grows up to be! He is such a happy baby and we enjoy his sweet smile and adorable and contagious laughter! WE LOVE YOU BUDDY!

Christmas 2008!

2009-01-10T11:36:00.000-08:00

We all had a great Christmas! We got to spend tons of time with all our family! The kids got all they hoped for, and we had so much fun watching the expressions on their faces. Ashlyn told her "pappa" (grandpa hildebrandt) that she got everything she wanted.... a dolly! I just love that although we didn't do a ton, they were very grateful for all that they got!
Before Christmas, we were able to go to the live Nativity Scene that our community puts on. It was fun to see Devin's eyes when he saw Mary "pregnant" and then later we saw her holding baby Jesus. He said "Wow, look she IS holding baby Jesus. I saw him. HE is special" How fun!

Well, seeing Santa wasn't such a good experience... ummm.... does anyone else see a problem here!?! This was probably the worst santa suit I have ever seen. Blake didn't mind!

Ashlyn was freaked out by him! Who wouldn't be?!

Poor Devin- his comment was" Umm, Mom, that doesn't look like santa!" I told him that Santa was busy working on making the toys that he had to send a helper! Good thing that boy has a lot of faith! All in all- It was yet another wonderful WHITE Christmas!

First Snow!

2008-12-14T18:33:00.000-08:00

This weekend was our first snow fall so far, and while Ryan took Devin and Ashlyn outside, Blake still managed to find enough to do inside!They had a blast trying to build a "mountain of snow"
They had soooo much fun with daddy!

Annika, Aaron, Tre and Cali-

2008-12-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

I know this is way late and wrong holiday- but I never posted them so you could see the kids all dressed up! So here you go. Wish you could have been here with us!

"I got the Snick-ups Mama!"

2008-12-08T14:12:00.000-08:00

This week we were running around town while Devin was at school, and Ashlyn and Blake were just quietly sitting there when all of a sudden she yells out " I got the snick-ups mama!" She had the hiccups!! I just thought it was the cutest thing ever. Also another day this week we were on our way out to wal-mart when she sneezed and yelled out " I got the bless-you's Mama!" She may be in a terrible 3 stage- but I love the things she comes up with!

Fall Update

2008-10-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

Since I have not updated this for a long time... here is a quick update! Devin started Kindergarten in september and is loving it! Ashlyn turned 3 and can't wait for her turn to start school and little Blake has learned to sit, crawl backwards and has started the new adventure of baby food! As for Ryan and I we are reroofing our house! When I say we... that means Ryans doing most of the work and I clean up the mess or get him whatever he needs!!! It is looking great! My mom took the kids out this past weekend and took some cute fall pictures of the kids! Here are a few of my favorites!

Cousins Come To Visit!!!

2008-08-15T13:41:00.000-07:00

My oldest brother Aaron and Annika and there two kids Tre & Cali flew up from Alaska for my brother Justin's wedding! All the cousins had so much fun playing together and having sleepovers. My mom had bought all the grandkids matching outfits. We had tons of fun taking pictures of them all dressed up in the outfits!!!

First Post!

2008-08-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

Well~ we are starting to figure this out finally! We will try to keep udating this often so that you all can see how much fun we have in our little family!!

The Hildebrandt Kids

Ashlyn turns 6!!!

Vegas Baby!!!

It's Tractor Man... and a birthday party too!!!!

Happy Birthday Bubba

Zumba Fitness Basic Steps Demo

*8 things about Devin*

Its Devins Speical Day!

Devin turns 8!!!!!!!!

Disneyland 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

*Halloween*

"What makes you Lucky?"

Our summer~

Dance like no one is watching......

New pictures of Hailey!!!!

Is it just me???

Spring Break......Day 2

Spring Break....day 1

28? Really?

Devin's 7!!!!

Meet my new little niece....

Update!

We Are FAMILY......

Classic Santa Photos!

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house....

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Lions and Tigers and Bears....oh my!

Disney on Ice and the Beach!

Little People, Big World!

How LUCKY am I!?!

An adventure!

Ashlyns 4!

Dear Eskimo's in Alaska,

Oh....those tasty hostess cupcakes!!!

Today is Miss Cali's Birthday!

A passion....

It can't be!

My HAPPY Place 2009

Sweet Obsession!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Flip That House

School's Out For The Summer.....!

Hula Dance!

Little Girls

Happy 1st Birthday Blake!!!

We're jumpin' in....

PoRtLaNd OR bUsT!!!!

Look out world Devin turned 6!

Proud Sister!

All Smiles

New Language...New Toy!

Blake is 9 Months!!!!

Christmas 2008!

First Snow!

Annika, Aaron, Tre and Cali-

"I got the Snick-ups Mama!"

Fall Update

Cousins Come To Visit!!!

First Post!

8 things about Devin

Halloween

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